Improving as the winter progresses is a shared goal of every college basketball program.
That is not happening at Alabama.
The Crimson Tide opened Southeastern Conference play in early January with a thrilling triumph over Kentucky, but they are now seeking to shake a significant slump. Alabama has lost three straight games, and a setback Saturday night to visiting Vanderbilt could be too much to overcome.
“We’re the most inconsistent team in the league,” fourth-year Alabama coach Avery Johnson said. “There are times when we look like a team that could be at the top end of our conference. We barely lost at Tennessee. We beat Kentucky at home, and we had an outstanding game against a really good Ole Miss team at home.
“Then we’ve had other games when we’ve looked like we’ve never held a practice before.”